Strength in the face of adversity: individual and social thriving - Thriving: Broadening the Paradigm Beyond Illness to Health

Illustrative of the compensatory model of resilience is the work of Werner and Smith (1982), who conducted a landmark study of 700 native children born on the island of Kauai in 1955. Four central characteristics were common to the 10% of young adults labeled resilient: an active approach toward solving life's problems; a tendency to perceive or construct their experiences positively, even if those experiences caused pain and suffering; the ability, from infancy, to gain other people's positive attention; and a strong reliance on faith to maintain a positive view of a meaningful life. Thus, Werner and Smith identified compensatory factors that either lowered risk initially or ameliorated risk throughout development.

Challenge Model

The challenge model of resiliency is one in which a stressor (i.e., risk factor) is treated as a potential enhancer of successful adaptation, provided that it is not excessive. In this model, too little stress is not challenging enough and very high levels of stress result in dysfunction. Moderate levels of stress, however, provide a challenge that, when overcome, strengthens competence. If challenge is successfully met, it helps prepare the individual for the next difficulty. Rutter (1987) refered to this process as "stealing" or "inoculating." If efforts to meet the challenge are not successful, the individual may become increasingly vulnerable to risk.

For example, mild childhood traumas appear to help women handle adult depression, if their childhood stress was handled well and instilled a sense of resourcefulness. Using a life course analysis, Forest (1991) found that women who had experienced stressful events during childhood (e.g., death of a loved one or changes in family structure due to divorce or remarriage) were less likely to respond with depressive symptoms to distress-provoking situations faced as adults (e.g., death of a spouse, divorce, or a major accident or illness).

In the case of resilience, protection apparently develops not through the evasion of risk, but in successfully engaging it (Rutter, 1987). A literary illustration of such engagement was provided by Peter Hoeg (1993) in his book Smilla's Sense of Snow. Reflecting on her way of working out depression, Smilla observes:

[My way] consists of submerging yourself in the dark mood. Putting your defeat under a microscope and dwelling on the site. When things are really bad - like now - I picture a black tunnel in front of me. I go to it, I strip off my nice clothes, my underwear... and then I walk into the dark. I know that a train is coming, a lead line steam locomotive transporting Strontium 90. I go to meet it.... I know that inside the tunnel, underneath the wheels, down between the ties, there is a little spot of light [p. 107].

For Smilla, confronting the challenge is essential to overcoming it.

Protective Factor Model

A protective factor is a process that interacts with a risk factor to reduce the probability of a negative outcome. It moderates the effect of exposure to risk. Rutter (1987) described a protective mechanism as an interactive process that helps identify "multiplicative interactions or synergistic effects in which one variable potentiates the effect of another" (p. 106).